U.S. government shutdown slows maquiladoras

Increased border waits limits exports

Ever since the “shutdown” of the U.S. government, maquiladoras have experienced plenty of extra expenditures, including fuel costs, keeping vehicles in “overnight” lots, and fines for delivering merchandise late.

Gabriel Merino Fausto, president of a Tijuana association of industries (Asociacion de Industriales de la Mesa de Otay), has pointed out that, due to reduced personnel, the Otay Mesa crossing alone brings an extra wait of between four and five hours, wreaking havoc to the ebb and flow of goods to both sides of the border.

Since the start of the “shutdown” last Wednesday, October 2, there have been longer lines in truck traffic at Otay every day. In the case of Tijuana, on average, 3000 trucks cross daily.